Current collector



' July 28, 1936. W 2,049,403

CURRENT COLLECTOR Filed July 2, 1935 Milli Patented July 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CURRENT COLLECTOR Fred L. Wolf, Mansfield, Ohio Application July 2, 1935, Serial No. 29,477 11 Claims. (01. 19 1-59.1)

My invention relates to current collectors and particularly of the sliding or shoe type.

On object of my invention is to provide a current collecting shoe which has a long life and with which injury to the trolley wire is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of my invention is to provide a shoe of ferrous metal with non-ferrous ends.

Shoes for collecting current from trolley wires must meet varying conditions as to operation and overhead construction and, therefore, in the past they have been made wholly of ferrous material and in some cases tempered, and have also been made wholly of non-ferrous material such as copper combined with various elements to provide various characteristics. They have also been made of non-ferrous metal with a steel insert to increase wearing properties.

The non-ferrous shoe with a ferrous insert appears to meet certain exacting requirements in eliminating wear upon the trolley wire and at the same time gives longer life to the shoe than if made wholly of non-ferrous metal. Such a shoe, however, is expensive due to the large amount of non-ferrous metal and also the labor required in manufacture. Such shoes have been made by casting the non-ferrous metal about a steel insert, also by casting an opening in the non-ferrous body and inserting therein a plug of steel.

As before stated, the aboveinsert shoes are expensive, but my invention will permit of the manufacture of a shoe almost wholly of ferrous metal thus giving the necessary life and having soft ends of non-ferrous metal, thus securing all the advantages of the non-ferrous shoe with a steel insert and at a much lower cost.

My shoe also has the advantage of giving a much more uniform contact surface in the groove with the wire than where the steel insert is used.

My invention resides in the new and novel construction and relation of the parts and of the steps of manufacture as set forth in the specification and shown in the drawing.

In the drawing:-

Fig. 1 is a side view of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view.

Fig. 4 is an end view.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fi 2.

Fig. 6 shows my improved shoe mounted on a) support.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I provide a body I made preferably of ferrous metal such as cast iron, malleableized cast iron,

sired or it-may be made of other forms of ferrous 5 'inate'ri'al.

The body is provided with upright flange 2 forming a-wire-receiving groove 3 having a contact surface A. v

At one or both ends :of the contactsurface 4 the 10' :body is formed with'a depression 5. This depression may be produced at the time the body is formed or cast, or may be cut into the body after it has been formed or cast and the spacing of the depressions can be varied to meet conditions and which with a given length of shoe will affect the length of the Contact surface 4 of ferrous metal.

' The depression 5 is filled with a non-ferrous metali fused to the surface thereof and of such composition as may be required to meet condi- L tions, The filling metal maybe of phosphor or silicon copper or it may be of metal composed of copper alloyed withother elements such as tin, lead, aluminum, etc.

The filling metal 6 may be applied as by thermal 'depositon, that is, by the useof a rod 1 of the composition required and such as used by welders.

The rod and the shoe are connected to a source of current 8 as is usual in welding.

Afterifilling the recesses 5 the shoes are then 9 machined and the groove finished ,as required. A portion of the deposited metal 6, as at 9, will form an extension of the ferrous contact surface 4 and will contact with the trolley wire and being more nearly the composition and hardness of the trolley wire than the body of the shoe there will be less injury to the trolley wire and fittings from the forward or nose end of the shoe gouging into or striking the overhead parts.

The shoe is provided with a projection l0 which is machined with a spherical surface such that the shoe will have substantially universal movement relative to its support I l.

The shoe is also provided with threaded means l2 for securing it to the part ll! of the support and is also provided with dowel receiving openings M to properly position and hold the shoe with respect to its support. The support may be secured to a trolley pole IS with an intervening sleeve of resilient rubber l6.

If desired, the body of the shoe may be made of non-ferrous metal and the depression 5 filled with a dissimilar metal such as a ferrous metal, or the recesses may be filled with other non-ferrous metal as for instance Babbett metal composed largely of lead and copper, or the recesses 5 may be filled with other grades of metal high in copper.

By making the body I entirely of the preferred ferrous metal the entire contact surface 4 between the cushions 6 is uniform which is not true when the body is of one metal (non-ferrous) and is provided with an insert (ferrous) as the shoe may contact with the conductor along the longitudinal edge of the insert which is a decided disadvantage.

My invention is not confined to the specific form of shoe shown but may be applied to other forms.

I claim:

1. A sliding contact shoe for collecting current from a trolley wire, comprising a body of ferrous metal having a groove with an elongated contact surface, approach members of non-ferrous metal integrally united to the body adjacent the ends of the groove and forming part of the groove and elongated contact surface, and means to mount the shoe upon a support.

2. A slider shoe for collecting current from a trolley wire comprising a body entirely of ferrous metal having a groove in one side provided with an elongated contact surface, members of nonferrous metal integrally united to body adjacent the ends of the body and forming a part of the groove and a part with a convex spherical hearing surface positioned on the side opposite the contact surface.

3. A current collector shoe comprising a body member entirely of ferrous metal and having a longitudinal groove in one side and a spherical bearing surface on the opposite side and nonferrous parts integrally united to the body at the ends of the body and forming a part of the groove.

4. A current collector shoe comprising a body member entirely of ferrous metal and having a. longitudinal groove in one side, means to mount the body member on a support and non-ferrous members united to the body at the ends of the body and forming a part of the groove.

5. A current collector shoe comprising a body member entirely of ferrous metal and having an elongated contact surface to engage a trolley wire, a hollowed-out-portion at the end of the contact surface and a deposit of non-ferrous metal mounted in the hollowed-out-portion and means to secure the shoe in position on a support.

6. A slider shoe for collecting current from a trolley wire comprising a body member formed of relatively hard metal and having a pair of spaced upstanding flanges forming an elongated groove with a contact surface to engage the trolley wire and spaced recesses in the body member adjacent the ends of the shoe and between the flanges and a filler of relatively soft metal secured in the recesses and forming a part of the surface of said groove.

7. A sliding current collector comprising a part formed of ferrous-metal and having a groove with an elongated contact surface to engage a conductor, a part of non-ferrous metal fused to one end of the first part and secured thereto and forming a portion of the surface of said groove, a portion of the first part having a spherical bearing surface to support the parts.

8. A current collector shoe for collecting current from a trolley wire comprising a body porand arranged to contact with the trolley wire in advance of the engagement thereof by the body portion.

10. A current collecting device comprising a shoe pivotally mounted on a support, the shoe comprising a body of ferrous metal and having a groove provided with an elongated contact surface and a cushion of non-ferrous metal fused to the body at one end of the groove, the cushion forming part of the groove and an extension of the ferrous contact'surface, and means to secure the shoe on the support.

11. A current collecting device comprising a slider shoe having a body composed entirely of ferrous metal and having a contact surface to engage a trolley wire, a swivel for carrying the shoe, said swivel provided with a spherical bearing surface to engage a support and non-ferrous cushions secured to the shoe at the ends of the contact surface and forming extensions of the ferrous contact surface.

FRED L. WOLF. 

